A Little Goes A Long Way
by Masked Revenge
Summary: If only she had been watching. If only she had been faster. Maybe her partner wouldn't be laying in her bed, unconscious. If only she had seen the akumas fist. Maybe she could've stopped it. But she didn't.
1. Chapter 1

She really had no idea how they got themselves into situations like this.  
It wasn't like them to get seriously hurt during akuma attacks.  
If only she had been watching.

This newest akuma looked like a wrestler, nothing but muscle.  
She could tell Chat was having a hard time keeping the akuma distracted while she tried to figure out her lucky charm.  
She looked down again and suddenly it clicked. She quickly folded the square piece of cloth into a blindfold and jumped up to join her partner in the action.

Coming up behind the villain, Ladybug hurriedly wrapped the blindfold around the akumas head and watched as the victim lost all sense of direction and started to punch at the air.  
Chat smiled as he realized what had been done and made his way to the lucky rabbit's foot hanging off a chain on the wrestlers waist.

If only she had been watching.  
If only she had been faster.  
Maybe her partner wouldn't be laying in her bed, unconscious.  
If only she had seen the akumas fist rushing straight for Chat's head.

Maybe she could've stopped it.

But she didn't.

She's heard people say that traumatic events sometimes happen in slow motion.  
That's not what happened.

What happened was Chat reaching for the akuma and the next second he was on the ground.  
Adrenaline was the only explanation as to why she was able to grab the akuma and smash it on the ground as fast as she did.  
Quickly, she made her way to the victim and informed him of what happened. She instructed him to go back to his apartment and sort everything out.  
The moment he was out of sight, Ladybug raced to Chat Noirs side to see if he was okay.

She shook his shoulders lightly in hopes of rousing him.  
She watched as his eyes slowly fluttered open and his mouth twisted to a frown

"Ow" He mumbled.  
"Yeah, 'ow'." Ladybug repeated giving a small, sad smile, "Are you okay?" She asked, lifting his head slightly to help him up.  
"Dizzy" Chat spoke.

Ladybug frowned. His voice wasn't above a whisper and he hadn't answered her question with a full sentence.  
"You were hit pretty hard on the head. Can you stand?" She asked him, supporting him to his feet.

"Yeah, yeah. I-I'm okay" Chat replied, lifting his hand to his head to ease the pain.  
"Are you sure?" Ladybug asked, watching her partner stumble.  
"Um, yeah. I-um." Chat stuttered as his speech drifted off.  
Now Ladybug was worried.  
Dizziness and not having the ability to form a coherent sentence were two big signs of a concussion.

Her mind made up, Ladybug quickly slipped her arm under Chat's and started to lightly pull him forward.  
"Wha-Where are-" Chat stumbled.

"I'm taking you to a friends house. You're hurt and I don't want you running and jumping on rooftops in this state." Ladybug explained, starting their walk.  
"Oh" Chat mumbled, "Whose?" Chat asked.  
Ladybug took a second to process what her partner had just asked.

Whose house was she taking him to.

"Marinette's house. Do you remember her?" Ladybug asked as she helped her partner move forward.  
"Marinette?" Chat mumbled, "Yeah. She's nice" Chat replied.  
Ladybug smiled. At least he didn't think badly of her.  
"I'll drop you off with her and check in with you later, okay?" Ladybug said, shifting her weight to open the trap door to her bedroom.  
"You're leaving?" Chat whined.

"Yeah, I have to recharge. But I'll be back later." Ladybug explained again.  
Chat was quiet while they both carefully made their way down the steps that lead into the pink bedroom.

"Promise?" Chat spoke.

Ladybug paused for a second. The thought hit her like a brick.  
He didn't trust her.  
He wanted to make sure she wouldn't lie and back out on the promise.

"I promise" Ladybug replied, giving a comforting smile.

Ladybug helped Chat get comfortable on her chaise. She was about to take her leave when Chat asked a question.  
"Shouldn't I be on the floor?"  
Ladybug turned around, "Why would you want to be on the floor?"  
"I don't want to be in the way" Chat answered.

"You're not in the way." Ladybug explained.  
"I'll tell Marinette you're here and she'll help you get the things you need" Ladybug said as she exited back out the trap door and into the streets.  
She made a quick U-turn and de-transformed inside the bakery.

Thanking her luck that her parents were out getting supplies.  
"Do you really think this is the best place to take care of Chat Noir?" Tikki asked.  
"We can't take him to the doctor's without endangering his identity and he's already met Marinette before, so I thought it would be the best course of action" Marinette explained.  
"Just be careful, okay Marinette?" Tikki pleaded.

"Don't worry, Tikki. I know exactly how to handle this" Marinette promised.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Don't worry, Tikki. I know exactly how to handle this" Marinette promised._

She quickly got into her freezer and grabbed a bag of ice along with a cloth and headed back upstairs to meet up with her partner.  
When she opened her door, the first thing she noticed was that Chat was holding his head in between his legs with his hands covering his hair. The second thing she noticed was that he was sitting on the floor.

"Chat Noir, what are you doing?" Marinette asked, setting down the ice pack.  
"I didn't want to intrude" Chat explained.  
Marinette sighed, "You're not intruding. Ladybug told me you had a concussion from your last akuma battle." Marinette explained, "Here, let me help you back up" Marinette offered, walking towards the feline themed superhero.

"Are you sure?" Chat asked.  
"Yes, Chat. I'm sure" Marinette smiled. The young teen helped the hero stand up and lean back onto the chaise.  
"Thanks" Chat breathed, closing his eyes.  
"Here, put this on the area where you got hit" Marinette said, handing Chat the ice pack wrapped in cloth.  
Chat lazily reached for the ice as he placed it on his left temple, "'M tired" Chat mumbled.

"I know, but you need to stay awake for a few more minutes." Marinette informed. She had read an article about how to take care of different kinds of injuries when she first took up the job of being Ladybug and she knew that you were never supposed to sleep with a concussion.  
But she also knew that it was hard to keep a tired person awake.

She took a second to think about what to do.

She somehow had to keep Chat awake and talking without making him do anything too straining. She didn't want to overexert his mind or body.  
"Lets play a game" Marinette spoke.  
"What game?" Chat asked, lifting his ice pack slightly.

"It's easy, I say a word and you just say the first thing that comes to mind" Marinette smiled.  
This was an easy way to keep Chat awake and not let him overthink.  
"Ready?" Marinette asked.  
"Sure" Chat replied.

Marinette thought for a little bit before starting, "Cats"

"Me"

Marinette giggled, "Trees"

"Green"

"Fashion"

"Family"

Marinette paused.  
That didn't make any sense.  
"Family? Chat, I said 'Fashion'" Marinette repeated.  
"I know. And I said 'Family'" Chat replied.

Marinette shrugged and chalked it up to his concussion induced confusion.  
"Animal"

"Gorilla"

"Gorilla? Why not a cat?" Marinette questioned.  
"You said the first thing that came to my mind. And Gorilla was the first thing" Chat gave a lopsided grin.  
Marinette smiled back before continuing the game.  
They played like this for a few more minutes before Chats language started to slur.

"Okay, I think you're clear to sleep now" Marinette smiled.  
Chat gave a soft half-hearted "yay"  
Grabbing a nearby blanket, Marinette handed it to the injured feline and turned away to flick the lights off.

Not a minute later, she heard his slow, soft, even breathing.  
Tikki took this time to come out of hiding to talk with her friend.  
"Marinette, are you sure you've thought this through? I mean, what if he de-transforms?" Tikki asked.

"Don't worry, Tikki, I've got that covered" Marinette smiled, holding up an eye mask, "There's a good chance I don't know him in real life, so this should keep his identity a secret until he's ready to transform again" She explained.  
"Okay" Tikki agreed hesitantly.  
"Don't worry, Tikki. He didn't use his cataclysm during the fight, so he should be safe. This mask is just in case" Marinette explained further.

"Okay. I trust you, Marinette" Tikki smiled.


End file.
